Shenandoah County Department of Fire and Rescue’s Emergency Management Division is dedicated to minimizing loss of life and injury, damage to property from disasters, both natural and man made. We work purposefully to strengthen our all-hazard emergency management approach. We strive to accomplish this through continuing outreach, coordination, planning, training, and exercising, for “all hazards” by applying all five phases of emergency management — preparation, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Emergency Management 101 - What is Emergency Management anyway?
There are 5 phases of Emergency Management. Prevention, Mitigation, Preparation, Response, and Recovery. We will explore each one in more detail.
Prevention in emergency management can be any activity we do to avoid an event form happening. For example, we go to the doctor to prevent serious illnesses before they happen.
Mitigation is anything we can do to reduce the chance of an emergency happening. For example, changing building codes or building ponds for excess water.
Preparing for disaster is our best tool! We exercise our plans; we train constantly; we give tips and advice on social media.
Response is our boots hitting the ground. Immediate actions that reduce cost, save lives and property and lighten suffering.
Recovery is what we do AFTER a disaster. Moving as quickly as possible to get everything we are used to back up to near normal as possible.
Where the action is! The Emergency Operations Center - A flexible, scalable location where planning and logistics occur.
An Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is opened when resources in the field are overwhelmed.
What does an EOC do exactly? An EOC collects incoming and outgoing data, leadership makes decisions and coordinate people, places and things! The doers, The leaders, The thinkers, The getters and The bankers are all in this location.
Who makes up an EOC? Police, Fire, Rescue, Private sector businesses, all levels of government, Utility companies, Department of Transportation - its limitless. Its all dependent on the scope of the incident.
Shenandoah County has partnered with CodeRED Community Notification. If you’re interested in signing up for alerts about dangerous weather or other emergencies, visit the enrollment page.
Use the links on this page to download information and checklists that will help you learn how to live safer and be prepared to face events that we all hope won’t come.
Prepare
- All Hazard Planning
- Cyber Security Tips
- Preparing for a Flash Flood
- Preparing for Drought
- Preparing for Extreme Heat
- Preparing for a Hurricane
- Preparing for Power Outages
- Preparing for Thunderstorms & Lightning
- Preparing for Tornadoes
- Preparing for Wildfires
- Preparing for a Winter Storm
Preplan
Home Safety
- Carbon Monoxide Detectors
- Smoke Detectors
- Fire Extinguishers
- Home Fire Safety (Spanish version)
- Escape Planning
Seasonal Safety
- Tips on Dealing with Summer Heat
- Lightining Safety Tips
- Swimming Pool Safety
- Home Heating Tips
- Christmas Tree Safety Tips
- Grilling Safety